Driver sentenced after 193 km/h crash caused passenger brain injury

A young man has been given a five-month suspended prison sentence after driving at up to 193 km/h before a crash that left a passenger with a serious brain injury, mbl.is reported. The District Court of Northwest Iceland also banned him from driving for 12 months and ordered him to pay the passenger 3.5 million krónur in non-pecuniary damages, plus interest.

The crash happened on Siglufjarðarvegur, a road in Skagafjörður, on the evening of April 11, 2025. The driver was nearly 18 at the time. All four people in the car were injured, including the driver and one passenger, who were seriously hurt.

The speed limit was 90 km/h. Police estimated the car was travelling between 180 and 193 km/h shortly before the crash. Data recovered from the occupants’ phones included Snapchat footage showing the speedometer at 190 km/h.

The car crossed onto the opposite side of the road and rolled three or four times over a distance of about 80 metres. It came to a stop about 19 metres off the road.

The passenger in the right rear seat was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. He suffered a diffuse brain injury, bleeding in the brain’s ventricles, fractures to a spinal process and the upper jaw, and bruising to both lungs. He spent nearly a month in intensive care and was left with aphasia and paralysis on the left side of his body. A medical report cited in the judgment said the crash had profoundly affected him and his family, and that his injuries would shape the rest of his life.

Another passenger suffered fractures to the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, bruising to the lungs and tendon damage to the left hand.

A technical inspection found the car was in very poor condition. Its tyres were extremely old, with rubber that was cracking and deteriorating, and its brakes were in very poor condition. Corrosion had weakened the vehicle’s structure and bodywork. The inspection report said tape had been used to cover rust holes and metal patches had been sealed and screwed into the boot. The car was so unroadworthy that it should not have been in traffic, the report said. The court said the vehicle’s condition added to the seriousness of the offence.

The driver admitted the offence. The court took his guilty plea, young age and lack of previous convictions into account when setting the sentence. It also noted that he had driven in a “dangerous and reprehensible” manner, with serious consequences. The prison sentence is suspended for two years.

The injured passenger had sought eight million krónur in damages and non-pecuniary compensation. The court found no basis to award compensation for financial losses, and did not reduce the non-pecuniary award because the passenger had not been wearing a seatbelt.